If that sounds like exaggeration, consider that Robinson's music in the 1960s helped pull together the nation at a time when bloody Civil Rights battles were raging.

"I'd like to think that Motown itself, Motown music ... broke down a lot of barriers," Robinson told "CBS This Morning" back in January. "Because before that time, white kids and black kids weren't even in the same areas dancing and listening to the same music ... So I'm proud of that."

A master songwriter whose massive hits include "Shop Around," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," and "The Tracks of My Tears," Robinson wrote catchy, polished tunes that radiated a gentle, graceful calm.

In retrospect, the elegant music he recorded with The Miracles can be seen as the flipside of the raucous "Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown or "There's a Riot Goin' On," by Sly and the Family Stone.

These days, Robinson's musical and social contributions are being appreciated as never before. The singer, who performs at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News on Saturday, was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2002 and accepted Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

Just last month, judges on Fox television's "American Idol" were falling over each other expressing affection for the man and his music. Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and others on the show made it perfectly clear: Smokey, at 73, is still hot.

Robinson's music is at the center of a new Broadway production. "Motown: The Musical" opens on Broadway later this month with Charl Brown playing the Robinson role.

Sadly, though, pain has come along with the attention and accolades. Robinson recently said goodbye to one of his oldest musical friends. Original Miracles singer Bobby Rogers, who was born on the same day and in the same Detroit hospital as Robinson, died last month due to complications from diabetes, the New York Times reported. Rogers got co-writing credit on standout tracks including The Miracles' "Going to a Go-Go," and "The Way You Do the Things You Do," a 1964 hit for The Temptations.

"Another soldier in my life has fallen," Robinson said in a statement. "Bobby Rogers was my brother and a really good friend ... I loved him very much."

While Robinson's own production of new music has slowed — his most recent album of new material is 2009's "Time Flies When You're Having Fun" — he remains fully engaged with music. He performs steadily and recently inked a new record deal with Verve Music Group that calls for a duets album to be released in the fall.

What keeps his passion for music strong?

"The fact that I recognize my blessing," Robinson told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2011. "I am so very, very blessed. I'm living in my wildest childhood dream. As a kid 5 or 6 years old I wanted to be in show business. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me, from where I was growing up. I just didn't think that was a possible dream, but it has come true through the grace of God.

"It's a magnificent blessing."

Want to go?

What: Smokey Robinson in concert

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 6

Where: Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News